Bellyaching after Surgery?
From: Helen Dynda (olddad66@runestone.net)
Thu Sep 13 14:14:32 2001
[]] Bellyaching after Surgery? There is additional information at this
website.
http://www.drweil.com/archiveqa/0,2283,1583,00.html
July 26, 1999 -- Abdominal adhesions are the result of internal scar tissue
that can develop after abdominal or pelvic surgery and are a frequent cause
of chronic abdominal pain in people who have had such operations.
Although adhesions are quite common and are the leading cause of obstruction
in the small bowel, we still don't know how to prevent or treat them.
You might try abdominal manipulation, done by an osteopathic physician or a
chiropractor, who has experience in this area.
Guided imagery may also be helpful.
If you're having problems with constipation because of adhesions, you should
probably take the bowel regulator, Triphala, an Ayurvedic remedy that is
available in capsules at health food stores. This combination of three
fruits is a much better bowel regulator than laxatives. Follow the dosage
recommendations on the label.
No one can predict which patients will develop adhesions, or which types of
surgery are most likely to cause them; but a recent study from Scotland
found that nearly six percent of hospital readmissions could be blamed on
them.
They also found that nearly 35 percent of all the patients, who had
abdominal or pelvic surgery, were readmitted - on an average of twice in a
10-year period - because of adhesions.
Another study found the link between adhesions and bowel obstruction a
bigger problem than previously believed: Of the 18,912 Medicare patients
who had some type of abdominal surgery at the Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans,
about 46 percent developed obstructions requiring treatment - which usually
led to more surgery.
Scientific studies have shown that you're less likely to develop adhesions
following laparoscopic surgery, which requires only a very small incision
and uses a tiny "scope" for doctors to see what they're doing. However,
even this type of operation doesn't eliminate the risk.
To make matters worse, problems related to internal scarring can develop
years after an otherwise successful surgery.
If you do get more adhesions, you will need more surgery - and
unfortunately, any kind of abdominal surgery increases your risk of
developing more troublesome scarring. So you can find yourself caught in a
vicious circle of requiring surgery to eliminate adhesions; but risking
more adhesions with each additional procedure.
Dr. Andrew Weil
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